Edge of the Past (13 page)

“Any more of what?”

“Run-throughs.”

“Why?” I hardened my voice. “Because Elena can’t handle it?”

“It has nothing to do with Elena.”

“Really? Then what’s the reason?”

“Chris is your partner. I’m just going to throw you off, skating with you.”

I shook my head. “It’s more than that. I’m sure you saw Elena storm out of here.”

“Forget about her.”

“I wish I could, but she’s in my face twenty-four seven,” I spat out.

“Then why did you offer her a place to stay?”

“I had to do something before you offered to move her into your apartment.”

Sergei looked at me as if I was crazy. “I wasn’t going to…” Glancing at the crowd on the ice, he said, “We can’t talk about this here.”

I slapped the cap onto my bottle and slammed it down. “So, what do you want me to do next? More Lutzes? Footwork? Maybe I can run through the long with my invisible partner.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sergei said. “I’ll queue up the music. And I want you to go full-out. Put all the required feeling into it.”

“It’s a little hard to emotionally connect to someone who’s not there.”

He angled toward me, his blue eyes shining deep with purpose. “I have faith in you.”

He skated toward the sound system, and I tightened my ponytail with a fierce tug. Why couldn’t Sergei admit Elena had gotten into his head? Chris waved to me from behind the boards, so I raced over to him.

“I ran into Elena on my way in,” he said. “She looked like she was about to cry.”

I groaned. “I can’t handle all this.”

“What happened?”

“Em!” Sergei called from across the rink.

“Excuse me, I have to go skate with imaginary you.”

Chris smirked. “He’s not nearly as funny as me. Or as good-looking.”

I let out a little laugh. “Or as humble.”

I got into position, and when “Clair de Lune” began, I heeded Sergei’s orders and emoted as if Chris was beside me, holding my hand. Sergei and I only discussed technical matters during the rest of our lesson, and at the end of the hour, I grabbed my water and hopped off the ice for a short break.

Plopping down on the bleachers, I sipped my drink and stared at the Zamboni circling the ice. Sergei stood nearby, introducing Liza to one of the freestyle coaches, but the loud hum from the ice drowned out their conversation. Elena still hadn’t returned. Maybe she’d hitched a ride to the airport. A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

Liza headed for the locker room, and Sergei came over to me. “Have you seen Elena?”

“I’m not her keeper,” I said brusquely.

He stood with his hands on hips, staring in the direction of the door. “I need to talk to her about Liza.”

“When you find her, you can let her know we won’t torture her anymore by skating together,” I said, rising from my seat.

The corners of Sergei’s mouth twitched downward. “Let’s not make this more complicated than it already is.”

“It would be less complicated if you were honest with me. You can’t tell me you don’t feel anything for Elena, seeing her after all this time.”

He inched closer to me and spoke softer, “Em, I’ve told you before – my feelings for her are long gone.”

“You say that, but your actions show otherwise. The way you left so quickly last night, and then today on the ice…”

“You’re reading way too much into that.”

“I’m not saying I think you’re still in love with her, but there’s something there.” The Zamboni exited the ice, so I went toward the boards but then stopped and turned around. “And you need to figure it out.”

Chapter Twelve

After a long morning of practicing solo followed by an intense workout on the elliptical machine, I retreated to the locker room, seeking an escape from Elena’s constant glare. Aubrey and Marley were sitting on one of the long wooden benches, paging through fashion magazines.

“Looking for costume ideas?” I asked.

Marley lifted her head. “Zach and I are changing our free dance. I’m trying to find some color inspiration for my dress.”

“What are you changing it to?” I asked.

“The soundtrack from
Movin’ Out
.”

“That’ll be a fun program,” I said, pulling on the door to my rusty blue locker. It wouldn’t budge. I yanked harder, growling deep in my throat. “Stupid door,” I said through gritted teeth as I frantically tugged on the handle. The loud banging echoed off the cement walls.

Aubrey jumped up. “Let me get it.”

She slowly jiggled the handle up and down and pulled on it, opening the locker easily.

“Thanks.” I threw my empty water bottle inside, and it hit the back wall with a thud.

“I saw you and Sergei talking earlier,” Aubrey said. “You didn’t look too happy.”

“He insists he has zero feelings for Elena, but the way he’s been acting…”

“Let’s all get out of here and go to lunch. You can tell us everything that’s going on.”

“I was just gonna eat an energy bar. You know, since according to Elena, I pigged out last night.”

Aubrey reached into my locker and handed me my purse. “We’re going to lunch.”

The three of us slipped our warm-up jackets over our leotards and piled into Aubrey’s Jeep. With only one stop light between the rink and our favorite deli, we were seated in a booth with our salads within minutes. I shoved a forkful of romaine lettuce into my mouth and chomped on it, letting my jaws work out more of my frustration.

“What happened this morning?” Marley asked, her warm brown eyes full of concern. “Chris said Elena stormed out while you were practicing.”

“Sergei and I did a run-through of the short, and I guess Elena didn’t enjoy watching us skate together,” I said. “You’d think ten years would be enough to get over whatever possessive feelings she had.”

Marley toyed with the straw in her paper cup. “I guess it could be kinda hard seeing him skate with someone else when they were partners for so long. Didn’t they team up when they were ten years old?”

“Eleven,” I said. “Even so, she needs to move on. I think she made Sergei feel guilty when he shouldn’t be. All he did was help me practice, and he was really into it until he realized Elena was watching.”

“She’s going to be at the rink every day, isn’t she?” Aubrey said.

“Yes. Always in my face, always a reminder.” I set down my fork and pushed away the salad. “I can’t look at her without thinking about her and Sergei in that tiny bed in his parents’ apartment.”

“You’re going to drive yourself crazy if you keep thinking about that,” Aubrey said.

“I know, it’s just that she was Sergei’s first kiss, his first love, his first…” I swallowed hard. “Everything. And now she’s here, all grown up and gorgeous, and Sergei knows what it feels like to be with her. Something he doesn’t have with me,” I added quietly.

“Are you regretting your decision to wait until you’re married?” Marley asked.

“No, I just… I hate that Elena has that connection with him.”

“Just because you haven’t slept with Sergei doesn’t mean you don’t have as deep a connection,” Marley said. “Considering how young he and Elena were when they were together, I’d say what you and Sergei have is even stronger.”

“They have a kid together, though,” I said. “It doesn’t get much deeper than that.”

The faint ring of my phone came from my purse, and I checked the number. The area code was Boston’s.

“Hello, is this Emily Butler?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“My name is Barrett White with Sovereign Bank. I’m calling regarding a property on Martha’s Vineyard you’re renting for a week this summer.”

“Yes?” I asked warily.

“The house has been foreclosed by the bank and will no longer be available for rental. I’m contacting you to discuss return of your deposit.”

My hand flew to my forehead, my palm flattening against it. “How can this happen? We have a contract.”

“I’m very sorry, but unfortunately the contract is void upon foreclosure. I realize it’s a terrible inconvenience.”

“We rented it for our honeymoon.” My voice rose. “How are we going to find something this close to summer? Most places will be booked already.”

“Again, I’m incredibly sorry. I’m going to put the paperwork and your deposit in the mail to you as soon as possible. I hope you’ll be able to find a new property.”

After he confirmed my contact information, I clicked off the phone and sat with it in my hand, staring at it. “I don’t believe this.”

“Something happened to the house you rented?” Marley asked.

“It’s been foreclosed by the bank and our contract is void. I knew we should’ve gone through an agency instead of dealing directly with the owner, but it was the perfect house! Right on the beach with that awesome deck I told you about.” I pressed my fingers against my temples. “What if this is an omen? For the wedding?”

“It’s not an omen. It’s a crazy fluke thing,” Aubrey said.

“Like running into Elena and Liza in Moscow? How many more crazy fluke things are going to happen before we get to the altar?”

Aubrey and Marley exchanged glances, and Marley said, “Nothing else will go wrong. We’ll help you find a new place.”

I rested my head on my hand. “Thanks. I’m going to have to scour the internet.”

“What about your Aunt Debbie’s summer house?” Marley asked. “I’m sure she’d let you have it for the week.”

“I thought about it when we first decided to go to the Vineyard, but I don’t really want to be in my aunt and uncle’s bedroom for my honeymoon. I don’t know… it would feel weird.”

“You could always use the guest room,” Aubrey said.

“I guess,” I said. “That house has so many family memories, though. I really wanted some place new where I’d only have memories of Sergei and me.”

“We’ll find a new amazing house for you, even better than the one you had,” Marley said with an encouraging smile.

I smiled weakly back at her. “You guys are the best. Thanks for getting me away from Elena for a while.”

“You’ll have a nice break tomorrow, too,” Marley said.

“What’s tomorrow?” Aubrey asked.

“Chris and I are signing autographs at a festival fundraiser thing in Boston,” I said. “My mom and Aunt Deb are on the organizing committee, so they asked us to help promote it.”

Aubrey dabbed at her mouth with her paper napkin. “Is Sergei going with you?”

“He was, but I’m sure now he’ll want to spend the day with Liza.”

“Which will mean spending the day with Elena,” she said.

I nudged my salad closer to me but just stared at it. “Since she won’t let Liza out of her sight, I suppose so.”

The image of Elena’s name carved into Sergei’s windowsill flashed through my head, and I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Don’t think about it.
But my mind wouldn’t obey.

****

When we returned to the rink, the usual afternoon session of skaters covered the ice but with two additions – Sergei and Liza. Sergei had Liza’s full attention as he executed a single Salchow. Watching them from the bleachers, Elena appeared much less distressed than she had earlier. She was almost smiling, something I didn’t know she was capable of.

I sat on the opposite end of the stands and observed the action on the ice. Sergei beamed as Liza completed two clean double Salchows. In turn, she looked at him with wide-eyed eagerness.

When Sergei and I had talked about our future children, we’d joked that they’d either love skating or want to be as far away from the rink as possible. If they wanted to skate, we dreamed of coaching them and making it a big, fun family affair.

Sergei was getting a taste of that dream, and he couldn’t appear happier. And despite the cute picture he and Liza were on the ice, I couldn’t share that happiness. He was experiencing things I thought we’d first experience together.

Sergei and Liza worked on the ice until it was almost time for Courtney and Mark’s lesson. I waited for Liza to make her exit before I skated out to Sergei, who still had a smile on his face.

“Looks like you had a lot of fun,” I said.

“She’s really talented,” he said. “And I think she’s like us. You know, the ice is home for her.”

“With all the changes she’s been through, that’s probably more true now.”

Sergei rested back against the boards. “Elena told me Liza slept in your room last night.”

I moved next to him and poked my left toepick into the ice. “I’m sure she thinks I was trying to undermine her, but what was I supposed to do when Liza obviously didn’t want to go to her?”

“I’m glad you were there for her. I told Elena that.”

“That must’ve gone over well,” I snickered.

“She’s worried Liza’s going to keep shutting her out. I said I’d do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He glanced down at the ice and shuffled his skates. “So, I was thinking maybe you shouldn’t come with us to Brewster tonight.”

“I’m not the problem between them,” I said crisply.

“I know, but if you’re there, it’s easier for Liza to ignore Elena. You’re kind of distracting… in many ways.” He leaned toward me with a smile.

His attempt to lighten the moment didn’t ease the wariness in my gut. This was exactly the scenario I’d pictured when we were in Russia – the little family going on outings together.

Turning my head, I watched Liza bypass her mother and head straight for Courtney. I supposed I could look at the one bright spot of Sergei’s request. I wouldn’t have to spend the evening with Elena.

Chapter Thirteen

“One more picture,” Aunt Debbie said, holding up her camera and sweeping a lock of hair out of her eyes.

I slid my arm around Chris’s waist, and we put on our biggest smiles. A large sign bearing our names and the Olympic rings in bright colors topped our festival booth behind us.

The fundraiser was for the ice rink in Boston’s North End, the Italian neighborhood where Mom grew up. Besides our autograph table, a number of other booths circled the rink, selling a variety of food and crafts. Also mixed in were face-painting stations and games for kids. It was like a carnival without the rides.

“Do you have everything you need?” Aunt Debbie straightened the bottled water, pens, and glossy photos of Chris and me on our table.